Job Applicants' Information Privacy-Protective Response: Exploring the Roles of Technology Readiness and Trust

Firms need to acquire a wealth of information about job applicants prior to offering employment. However, the recruitment process in most firms is plagued by rising personal privacy concerns. This article draws upon the socio-cognitive theory of trust to understand the interconnected relationships among technology readiness, disposition to trust HR professionals, institutional-based trust and information privacy-protective response. The conceptual model argues that job applicants’ responses to privacy protection is determined by their trust disposition on HR professionals and social networking sites and personalities toward social technologies. The model was tested with U.S. students using a job recruitment related scenario. The results provide an understanding of how job applicants respond to the privacy issue, and shed some light on the role of technology readiness and trust dispositions. This should help human resource professionals improve the recruitment process for hiring employees with perspectives that are consistent with organizational interest and culture.